Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-10-14

|
| When I left Staunton, week before last,
| some of your readers asked me to send
back some western dots and put them in
| the V1NDIoAToR where they could see them.
| Well, twenty-five years ago when man
| went to.Kentucky, they said in Augusta he
had gone West, but now in forty EIGHT
hours he can get SO far westward of Ken
lucky that when he gets out here you don't
feel as if he had taken any more of trip
than he had in those days when he went to
Highland. But as Kentucky is as far as l
have gotten, 1 will send what items have
and you can call them "Western Dots" for
want of anything better.
KENTUCKY HOGS.
The first Kentucky town I struck was
Ashland, brisk Ohio river town of large
pretensions; and if I had not known where
l was I would have guessed was in Ken
lucky when I saw hogs weighing 200 pounds
walking about the streets, rolling in the
cutters, and promenading the sidewalks
with as much nonchalance as any of the
other citizens. 1t is as much as they will
do, too, to give you your share af the side
walk, but you are obliged to confess that
you get more than your share of f1eas, and
whack with your cane intended to stir
up the hog, seems only to start the feas a.
jumping. Still, this is in city of 1000
people, with large business houses, broad
paved avenues, many pretty residences,
considerable wealth, coal operators, d large
iron furnace and big nail factory with
payroll of $40, 900 month, but you must
recollect that in Kentucky hog is king.
THE DARK AND BLOODY GROUND.
made brief stop at Morehead; in the
do h1oa1p ND IF
the place that acquired national notoriety
from the lawless doings of the murderous
Tollivers last summer, when they shot two
unarmed young men because they had
feud with their fathers. Some days after,
the reign of terror these Tollivers and their
adherents had inaugurated eliminated in
an uprising of the better class of citizens and
armed with rifles and shot guns forty or
fifty of them attacked the Tollivers in the
hotel in the town and affet long and fierce
fight killed four of them. 1t Is said that no
less than 1900 shots were fired. That seems
not unlikely when you see how the wealth
er-boarded houses around are bored all
over with bullet balls and the window panes
knocked into sm1thereens. l asked some of
the citizens if the place was safe and quiet
now Yes, they said, it was at present,
but there were some young Tollivers grow
ing up with blood in their eyes and ven
geance in their hearts and they would
make things lively yet for the slayers of
their kin. The trial of the regulators who
killed the Tolliyers had not been long
concluded when I was in the town, and
though the killing was proven and the
Judge sympathized with the Tollivers, they
were acquitted by brave jury from an
other county as having acted in the inter-
est of law and order. But it is considered
that those nervy jurymen now carry their
lives in their hands. Order was kept dur
ing and since the trial only by the pres
ence of battalion of troops from Louis
vile, who searched every man who en-
tered the court house during the trial, ex-
cept the Judge and Sheriff, and took away
all arms. Morehead is a daisy town, lots
can be bought very low and life insurance
is in demand. The writer did not tarry
longer than the next train. but would rec
ommend the field to agents of the grave
yard companies who really want to take
risks.
BLUE GRASS TOWN.
This is another sort of country howev-
er. Montgomery being in the Blue Grass
section of the State and you know that is
considered the best land the sun shines on
except the Valley of Virginia I heard
gentleman of travel and judgment say the
other day that the Valley of Virginia was,
taking everything together, the best coun-
try to live in he ever saw and that Angus
ia was the best county in the Valley, Staun-
ton the best town and Kalorama the best
street in the town. But, about Mt. Sterl-
ing; it reminds me very much of Staun-
ton, billy, shady, full of churches and
pretty women and two female colleges.
The frost of last week occasions more talk
here than it would with you, as it is in the
centre of tobacco country and good
deal of it got badly nipped, sending the
market up 81 so per hundred The rise in
tobacco of the last few months has made
some fortunes here. hear of one or two
men being worth 100000 now, who, if
there had been no advance, would have
been worse than nothing, and several
smaller fortunes of $25, 600 and $4,000.
THE LATE G. R. MAsoNs PORTRAIT.
heard gentleman to-day speak of a
fire portrait of the late G. r. Mason, of
Augusta, painted by Wybrant, which is on
exhibition in Louisville in the window of
the G. & o. ticket Office. He said it was
pronounced by Gen. Echols and others who
knew Mr.. Mason well, to be marvellous
~ H1e-uKe picture. 1t was painted for
Capt. S. D. Gooch, of Louisa c. H., and is
soon to be sent to him.
AUGUSTA HOTEL MAN.
I saw an Augusta man, Col. Geo. L.
Peyton, in Charleston, W. Va, as came
through, who was there to see about rent
ing the st. Albert Hotel, which has been
kept SO successfully for four years past by
his brother, DR.. Ed. Peyton. DR.. Peyton's
management of that house for its owners
was one of the great successes of the bust
ness and is the talk among hotel men and
travellers. During the time, he kept
most popular house, always full and paid
off a debt of S13, 600 which he found on
the property, and left it in good shape for
his successor. He has just rent d, in part
nership with his brother. in-law, Mr.. Fisher
of Charlottesville, the elegant Hotel Ruff
ner, which everybody predicts will be
the most popular as it is the most complete
travellers est between Richmond, or Wash
ington and Louisville. Though not two
weeks open under the present management,
there are sixty boarders already rooming
| in the house. T. g. NJ